Moscow (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced that all Ukrainian troops have been expelled from Russia’s Kursk region. Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces, informed President Vladimir Putin of this development during a meeting on Saturday, according to Peskov’s statement to the Russian state news agency Interfax.
In a statement, Putin congratulated the Russian soldiers and commanders and said that Kyiv’s incursion had “completely failed.”
“The complete defeat of our enemy along Kursk’s border region creates the right conditions for further successes for our troops and in other important areas of the front,”
he said.
In August 2024, the Ukrainian army surprised Russia by launching a border attack, seizing around 1,300 square kilometers of land. Ukrainian leaders hoped that this capture of Russian territory would bolster future peace negotiations, but their gains gradually diminished as Ukrainian forces steadily lost control of the area in early 2025.
What role did North Korean soldiers play in Kursk?
On Saturday, Gerasimov confirmed that North Korean soldiers were engaged in combat alongside Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region. He stated that they participated in “combat missions shoulder to shoulder with Russian servicemen during the repelling of the Ukrainian incursion” and “exhibited high professionalism, fortitude, courage, and heroism in battle.”
How did Trump and Zelenskyy approach ceasefire talks?
The announcement follows a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Vatican City, where they discussed a possible ceasefire agreement during the pope’s funeral.
Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nykyforov stated that the presidents met at St. Peter’s Basilica for around 15 minutes, during which they agreed to continue negotiations later on Saturday. This meeting was also confirmed by White House Communications Director Steven Cheung.
Soon after he arrived in Rome last Friday, Trump took to social media to suggest that Ukraine and Russia engage in “very high-level talks” aimed at concluding the three-year conflict initiated by Russia’s invasion. Earlier on that Friday, his envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Trump noted that both parties were “very close to a deal.”
